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Best stuff to use to clean and re-moisturise a rosewood fretboard...


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Hey guys

The fretboard on my custom Tobias Toby Pro IV is starting to look a bit dirty/dry so I'm wondering what is the best stuff to use on it to revitalise it a bit.

I've heard lemon oil is a big no no as it will end up drying it out even more but let me know what you think. It's my most cherished bass so I don't want it to get damaged and have to replace the fretboard if it ends up splitting.

Cheers
Stevie

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Yeah, clean it with a damp cloth first, then use lemon oil sparingly once a week or so a few times in a row. The lemon oil will lift out any gunk that's sat in there by closing the grain.

After that I'd just use a bit of lemon oil every 6 months or so. Leaves a little sheen so new gunk sits on top.

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some lemon oil is also petroleum fraction - naphtha (lighter fluid) with a scent added, this is a good degreaser but can dry out the wood. I use an oil now that prevents drying out, its a bit wierd but its great stuff for rosewood, its Selmer Bore Oil which will be familiar to woodwind instrument players. Its light mineral oil. You can also use turpentine or linseed, just a touch and rub in well then remove excess.

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It's good if you like lemons.

Also naptha (zippo brand lighter fuel) in preference than normal refined lighter fuel can also be useful for getting stubborn gunk out. Just got to be careful to put the removed oil back into the wood.

A light scrape with a nice sharp Stanley blade can also have its place in my book.

Edited by bigjohn
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Cheers bigjohn, i'll definitely have a go at doing that. The board isn't extremely dirty as I do clean it every month when I restring it or give it a quick wipe over after I play it but there's just that bit of build up either side of the frets that you can't wipe away.

Hopefully this will sort it all out anyway. I just want a new pre amp for it after this. The Dave McKeen pre-amp I fitted is crap. Sounds so dull. It was apparently out of a Zon bass too which is a big surprise. I'll be taking it out and replacing it with an Aguilar OBP-3 next. I had a Spector Tone Pump (not JR version) installed for a while but that stopped working so I had to put the McKeen one in :( The Aggy with a set of Seymour Duncan ASB-BO5 Active Blackout Soapbars will sound amazing.

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I use stuff called 'Liquid Gold', well known by the antique furniture fraternity. You'll find it on Ebay or in some antique/pine shops.

It's mainly almond oil, but there's some Triklone (trichloroethylene) in it too.

Use a *little* of the fresh stuff on a cloth if you need to remove gunk, otherwise, I leave some in a saucer for a couple of days and the Triklone evaporates leaving the heavier almond oil which I use maybe once a year.

Not to everyone's taste, but some times I also give the fretboard a wipe with Tung oil & then wipe off the surplus. This, when done on a warm & sunny day will give a 'skin' to the board & protect it from dirt bedding into the grain, & the Tung is fairly easily rubbed off to the extent that it won't be there at the same time next year.

G.

Edited by geoffbyrne
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[quote name='Dandelion' timestamp='1333925722' post='1608444']
I found a pint of this stuff at TKMaxx.

Is it any good?

[url="http://www.parkerbailey.com/index.cfm?pid=10249"]http://www.parkerbai...x.cfm?pid=10249[/url]
[/quote]Yeah I bought some of that, It won't do any harm as it will be easy to clean out. I use Dr Ducks and the bottle I have looks like it will last 20 years so i don't know when I'll get round to the lemon oil. It's good on furniture though.

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I may be wrong but I have read that lemon oil can attack certain metal alloys used for frets.

I've been using Ernie Ball Wonderwipes - pre-soaked individual cloths with a mixture of orange Oil, Jojoba and Linseed Oil:

[url="http://www.ernieball.co.uk/products/productdetail/Wonder+Wipes+Fretboard+Conditioner+6+pack/part_number=4276/574.1.4.3.16140.0.0.0.0?pp=8"]http://www.ernieball.co.uk/products/productdetail/Wonder+Wipes+Fretboard+Conditioner+6+pack/part_number=4276/574.1.4.3.16140.0.0.0.0?pp=8[/url]

One single cloth can easily do two necks or more.

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